


accolade

by orphan_account



Series: cornerstone [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Adopted Peter Parker, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Has Issues, don't mind me, i'm just pouring my heart out, no beta read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21544528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: For about the fifth time in a row, Tony wakes up to a blanketed lump by the foot of his bed. In the span of a month, this has become a normal occurrence- to wake up and find Peter asleep on the floor of his bedroom.He'd told Peter that he can come to him if he ever needs anything- maybe it's the uncensored intimidation and the natural shyness present on Peter's face.Maybe he's just a bad parent.Or, Peter and Tony learn to be a family
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: cornerstone [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552690
Comments: 31
Kudos: 459





	accolade

For about the fifth time in a row, Tony wakes up to a blanketed lump by the foot of his bed. In the span of a month, this has become a normal occurrence- to wake up and find Peter asleep on the floor of his bedroom. He'd be lying if he said that it doesn't bother him- the fact that the kid is on the floor and not in a bed that'd be doing his back more justice.

This is the fifth time, Tony counts but FRIDAY says twelve- counting in the times Peter had managed to wake up in time to head back to his own room without Tony noticing.

And like he always does when this happens, he carefully tries jostle a few pillows under the kid's head and between his body and the floor in hopes of making the experience (somewhat) more comfortable. He finishes off by securely re-wrapping the blanket around Peter's small frame.

Tony sits on the edge of his bed for several minutes, staring down at the kid to make sure he's actually breathing. It's a mystery to him- _why_ Peter crawls into his room most nights. Not that he minds. A part of him wants to steer towards a logical conclusion except, he can't find a logical conclusion. He'd told Peter that he can come to him if he ever needs anything- maybe it's the uncensored intimidation and the natural shyness present on Peter's face.

By the time Tony wakes up the next morning, Peter is gone.

As he's walking down the hallway, past the kid's room, he hears the shower running. He's no fool, the only reason Peter is in the shower is so he can avoid the billionaire for as long as possible. Deflection. Something they both seem to be good at.

Peter comes out just as Tony has finished making a fresh stack of blueberry pancakes- boring but normal in the sense that this is what they have every morning.

"Morning kiddo," he yawns, not fully awake yet. "I made the usual, there's yogurt and juice in the fridge if you want some."

Peter just nods and slides onto the barstool, eating in such silence that Tony swears he hears ringing in his ears. 

It saddens him to know the kid feels too scared to come to him at night.

The floor seems to be a better parent than he is. 

He sits across from Peter as they eat their breakfast in unison, silent and restrained. 

But with everyday comes a new milestone, Tony supposes. Just a little over a week ago, Peter had refused to come out of his room and now look where they are. Progress. _Growth_.

A little over four months now, followed by one public appearance with the kid, it's no secret to Tony Stark is 'in possession of a child', as ridiculous as it sounds. In possession of a child, as if he's holding Peter hostage. The nosy bastards.

But everyone seems to want to know exactly _who_ Peter is and the central question is- _do they really_?

Since he appears to be comfortable with staying in the penthouse for most of the day, Tony had enrolled Peter in online school. For one, it's easier in regards to the unwanted publicity and for two, the kid seems to enjoying it so if anything, it's a win-win.

It's also sort of the one thing they bond over. Peter is comfortable enough to ask Tony questions in relation to his online classes as the try to figure out how it works together.

They're not completely hopeless.

"You can't keep him trapped in the tower forever," Pepper tells him one evening as they're both sat by the kitchen island, quietly sipping on tea. "have you ever stopped and wondered if he wants to go outside?"

"What about you know, _people_?" Tony taps his side of his mug.

But Pepper only shrugs. "The longer you draw it out, the worse it'll get. But I can file restraining orders if that's what you want,"

They released a statement. It's not like nobody knows.

" _Please_ ," anything to keep them- the journalists, the cameramen, paparazzi in general- as far away as possible.

He gets the kid into a thick jacket, a scarf, gloves and a hat (despite the warm weather) before driving out to a skating rink. Strange idea but he figures it'll be fun. On top of that, he hasn't been ice skating in a _while_.

Peter's eyes radiate anxiety as Tony sits him down on a bench and helps him into his skating boots (that he'd bought himself, he has no desire of renting ones that look like they could be a hundred years old).

"You ready?" he asks the kid before they get out onto the rink.

With one thumb in his mouth, nibbling at his glove, Peter quickly shakes his head. "N-no. I-I've never been ice skating before,"

 _Ah_! And so he speaks again! Well, people tend to let go when faced with fear. 

"That's okay, here," he holds his hand out, it surprises him how fast Peter clasps their gloved palms together. "we'll walk out slowly okay?"

Tony puts two feet onto the synthetic ice just as the kid takes his first step. 

"Come on kid, you can do it," he encourages, patient.

Peter's legs are shaking and he grips onto Tony's forearm with another hand. It takes him a total of three minutes to get onto the rink, but Tony doesn't mind. 

They gently maneuver around for a few minutes, which eventually turns into a slow glide from both their parts. Their flow is still shaky to some ends, looking at the fact that it's Peter's first time on the rink, but they've got the hang of it. "There you go, isn't it fun?"

And it's the first time a genuine smile stretch across the kid's face. "Y-yeah," he breathes out, rosy-cheeked and crinkle-eyed.

Eventually, they let go of one another and Tony finds it too adorable not to film when Peter slides from one end to the other on his own, beaming with joy. Kid's a fast learner.

A few people recognize them but don't say or do anything. Except for the lady who thinks she's doing a great job at hiding the fact that she's secretly recording them, what a killjoy. 

It nears around 6:30 pm when they make an exit. The initial plan had been to go straight home but instead of a left, Tony takes a right turn and drives them to the Cheesecake Factory where the share the sugary monster that is the Oreo Dream Extreme (Peter gets some whipped cream on the tip of his nose and now Tony's phone is almost out of space) before heading back to the tower.

It's subtle but the kid smiles at him when they enter the penthouse.

A silent thank you.

He needs to send a muffin basket and a bouquet of flowers to Pepper now, the genius that she is.

Days filter by, resulting in an uneventful load of weeks. For Tony it's business as usual with all the SI junk and whatnot but he always comes home to Peter reading or watching TV on the couch, it brings a sense of normalcy into their lives.

The call from Steve is totally unexpected but not surprising. Tony's making dinner and Peter's doing homework by the counter when his phone buzzes.

"Hey Cap, what can I do for you?"

And so he gets the kid to pack an overnight bag and they drive out upstate the next day.

It sort of freaks him out, seeing how calm Peter is about the whole thing. Even as they pull up in front of the compound, with the overly large and clearly visible Avengers 'A' plastered on the side of the building, Peter doesn't say a word. Ultimately and on the other hand, it amazes him how the kid seems to be taking a nonchalant approach towards it. He knows, most people- _kids_ \- would go into cardiac arrest just at the thought of being within a two mile radius of _any_ Avenger. But with Peter, it seems like he just doesn't care.

The team are waiting for him on ground level. 

And for individuals who have seen things most can only dream about, Tony scoffs when they become wide-eyed at the sight of a kid at his side.

"Tony, hi," Steve prompts, being the first one to make an advance towards him. The blond looks down at Peter. "you brought him."

Of course the know about the kid, it's all over the news.

The others, even Natasha just give them dumbfounded looks.

"Yeah, and it's a problem because...?" Tony rather states than asks just to show he means no bullshit.

"It's n-not!" Steve sputters, "It's just, we didn't expect to see him but it's nice. Congratulations, Tony."

He gives the Captain a firm pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, Cap. Pete, wanna introduce yourself? Come on, they won't bite."

Peter comes out from behind him and carefully waves. "Hi, I'm Peter."

Steve smiles and shakes his hand. "Hello Peter, I'm Steve Rogers. Great to meet you, son."

It's weird- seeing the kid go from Avenger to Avenger, giving them each some sort of greeting. But Tony swears he sees him smiling when Clint gives him a high-five followed by a fist bump. 

Apparently, there have been sightings of HYDRA out in Norway for the past few weeks and they've been called to check out the area. It's only for two days, SHIELD has the rest covered. They'll only be there for security and look-out until HYDRA gets extracted from their new base. It's a simple operation, in and out, nothing too dangerous. He'll be back within two days, as simple as that.

"It'll be quick, okay? We'll be back before you know it," he tells Peter, knelt in front of him.

They haven't really been over this- the whole part-time superhero thing. It's not an anomaly but it's still of paramount importance. Somewhat.

"You'll stay here with Vision alright? There's plenty of food and snacks in the fridge and a number of movies to choose from on the TV,"

A nod. "Okay,"

He ruffles Peter's hair and smiles. "Enthusiastic, aren't you? Right, gotta go do our thing. Wanna come see take off?"

A shrug.

But as things go, Vision accompanies Peter to the taxiway and he watches as their jet (the infamous Aven-Jet) makes its way around the tarmac.

Tony waves at Peter before they lift off.

"He'll be okay, he's in good hands," Natasha tells him.

The mission, as it turns out, lasts more than two days.

HYDRA had built a whole face-slapping underground base and tons of other reinforcements needed to be called in. For the whole week and a half that they'd been running from safe house to safe house, that they'd been giving it their all, the only that was on Tony's mind was Peter. HYDRA broke into his suit system so there was no way of getting FRIDAY to call home and the cell service sucked out on the Besseggen ridge.

Five months and counting so far, Peter has been in his custody for Five months and some more.

Tony had honestly thought they had seen the last of HYDRA, those bastards, like five years ago. Obviously, they haven't.

In the end though, the make it out scratched and scraped with- _surprisingly_ \- only a few moderate scrapes.

The flight back home is antsy and nerve wrecking. It's been almost two weeks and all he wants to do is see the kid again. Amazing how attached he's become, which is a good thing. Stronger relationships and all.

Peter is already at the landing pad when the jet comes in. His eyes are bloodshot, he looks tense and he's hunched in on himself. It reminds Tony of himself during his MIT years. In other words. Not exactly a sight for sore eyes. 

"Hey bud, miss me?" he hopes the kid ignores the fact the dozens of scars on his forearm and the cuts on his face. 

"I-I...sort of yeah,"

They're so alike. Which is to say, they can both be emotionally constipated to a point.

This is also the first time they really establish physical touch- Tony pulls him into a quick but heartfelt side hug. A quick snapshot of what they should be but aren't necessarily. That's okay. 

Steve and the others coax them into staying over for dinner, gathered around the communal kitchen table as everyone scarfs down their own slices of pizza. This is family, the people that you choose to surround yourself with. Not blood bound but family nevertheless.

The penthouse is quiet and empty when they come back, just as they'd left it two weeks ago.

Christmas is just around the corner so Tony figures it's time to start the festivities, maybe decorate the tower a bit.

He's getting ready for bed that night when there's a faint knock at his door.

Tony has seen a lot of things throughout his who life. Before and after Iron Man. So really, nothing is ever a shocker to him. _This_ however- Peter standing in the doorway, blanket in his arms with downcast eyes- catches him off guard. 

It's almost as if they communicate telepathically because he just cards a hand through the kid's hair and nods towards his bed.

"Comfy?" Tony asks when Peter climbs under the covers.

"M'yeah, thanks,"

"No problem kiddo. I'm gonna go brush my teeth, be right back."

Tonight is just full of surprises because when he comes back and climbs in, Peter squeezes himself under his arm without word and goes right to sleep. And here Tony is- thinking they'd just established hugging when really, they're _long_ past it. He sleeps soundly for the rest of the night without distractions.

It's nice.

Unlike previous times, Peter is still in his arms when he wakes up the next morning. 11:04 am. They both needed the sleep anyway.

Something tells him that it's the perfect day to go scavenge the city for holiday decorations.

The kid wakes up and they eat breakfast before throwing their jackets on and heading downtown. They make a first stop at Home Depot where they fill a cart with tons of flashy ornaments and lights, garlands and LED snowmen they plan on scattering around the penthouse. Peter finds an Iron Man ornament with a santa hat on its head, finds it ridiculously funny and holds it up enthusiastically for Tony to see.

"Look, it's you," he beams.

"Are you sure? The suit's kinda tiny, not gonna lie..." he plays along, gently placing the decoration into the cart when Peter hands in to him.

Oh how his heart blossoms when the kid giggles, laughter full of sunshine and innocence. Huh. He's a parent now, isn't he? A few weeks over a-quarter of a year into being a father and he thinks he understands why people say it's the best decision of your life. There's a lot of firsts that he'd missed; first steps, first words. But there's a lot more that he'll hopefully be there for. First date, first kiss, first trip to the DMV, graduation, _college_. Yes, he's looking _that_ far into the future.

Wherever the kid ends up, Tony wants to be there with him.

After Home Depot, the head to SoHo Trees and purchase the biggest tree they have before picking up late lunch at Burger King to take home.

For as long as Tony remembers, Christmas had always had a special place in his heart. Not just because of the festivities and the parties but mostly because in the line of work that he is, coming together and celebrating with the people you love is a way of saying that he's found the place he wants to be. That this must be the place, that he's made it through another year.

He and Peter spend the rest of that afternoon decorating the tree and their floor. Pepper, Rhodey and Happy drop by and meet Peter for the first time, helping with the decor while they're at it. Tony even takes of picture of Peter when he climbs up onto the ladder (securely held in place by Happy and Rhodey) and places the star up on the tip of the tree. 

The same picture that he later uses for the Stark Industries website, putting it as the header imagine as he gives the entire website a holiday touch. He's not sure but maybe this is his way of telling the world that it's official.

Now it's Tony and Peter, Peter and Tony, tired to hip.

The kid is still shy and can be easily overwhelmed but it's more personality than it is fear.

The picture also leaves an impression- it's all over the internet. ( _Tony Stark's Adorable Son, Based On What We've Seen So Far- Here Are Reasons To Love Peter Stark, Forget the Kardashians- the Starks are here!_ )

But there's also the ugly parts of being a parent.

Finding Peter crying in his room one evening after work and putting the pieces together to figure out that he's been miserable this whole time is a punch to Tony's gut. PTSD, trauma, nightmares, panic attacks...all things that he's familiar with. There isn't a week that goes by where he doesn't think about Afghanistan.

Maybe that's why the kid used to sneak into his room at night. _The fear of being alone_.

He'll have to look into Peter's previous foster homes later on. 

"I know it hurts but when you wake up everyday, alive and healthy, you start to realize it gets better you know?" Tony tells him as the kid lays sleepily against hm, the tears having worn him out. "And maybe I can't quite understand what you've been through just yet but I'll try to if you let me because let's face the facts, my life is fucked up-"

" _Our lives._ " Peter interrupts with a hoarse croak. " _Our lives_ are fucked up."

And Tony wonders, wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone was like this ball of sunshine, shiny brown eyes and curly hair in his arms?

"Our lives, huh?" he smirks down at the kid and brushes his unruly strands out of his eyes. 

"I-I...yeah. Y-you're my Tony,"

Wow. Peter and his love of euphemisms.

He just squeezes him tighter, kissing him flush against the cheek. "And you're my Peter,"

When Christmas is but a few days away, they bust out some art supplies and get to making greeting cards and invitations that they send out to friends and family. 

On the morning of the twenty-fifth itself, Tony watches happily as Peter opens his presents. A phone (not just any phone, the latest StarkPhone) which the kid immediately uses to take a selfie of them both. A bunch of vintage Star Wars comics and posters since Peter has mentioned his admiration towards the franchise once and as a gag gift, a pair of Avengers pajama bottoms.

Peter's gift for him almost brings him to the edge of tears- a set of silver cufflinks with both their first names engraved into each cuff. "How did you-"

"Pepper helped me. I spent my allowance money on it,"

"Kid, that money's supposed to be for you to spend on _you_ not _me_ ,"

A set of wide melancholic eyes stare up at him. "You don't like it?"

"Peter, _I love it_. This is the best gift I've ever received, seriously, I'm going to wear them to ever single event. Just you wait and see," he gestures for the kid to climb onto the sofa next to him and gives him a long awaited kiss on the forehead followed by a warm hug. "Thank you for the best gift in the world." 

"Merry Christmas,"

"Merry Christmas kid. Now come on, we have a party to host,"

That evening, there's smooth jazz music filtering throughout the penthouse and the smell of turkey wafting in the air. Every one of their close ones are here, from Pepper to Rhodey, Happy, Steve, Nat, Clint. Thor to Bruce to Sam and Bucky. Family.

The others bury Peter in a mountain of gifts and Clint carries him on his back for most of the night. "He's my nephew, _of course_ I'm going to give him piggy back rides!" he'd said when questioned.

Dinner is just as lively, playful bickering and laughter here and there, warm smiles and inviting eyes. Tony knows he should reprimand _both_ Peter and Bucky when he sees them throwing bits of green beans at each other but he doesn't, in hopes of this moment lasting longer.

The chairs and sofas are all occupied as they sit out on the balcony later that night to enjoy the view of New York during the holidays- lights and all. 

"Here's to a holly, jolly, Christmas and many others to come," Natasha prompts, holding a glass of eggnog in the air.

Steve continues, "To old memories and new alike,"

"And as Norman Vincent Peale once said, Christmas waves a magic wand over this world and _behold_ , everything is softer and more beautiful," Tony says and looks down at the- no, _his_ kid sprawled next to him. He's made a lot of mistakes in his life, but in a way it's because of those mistakes that he's here now. Enveloped by his _people_. And Peter, well Peter's not just another chapter in his life. Everything that had happened before, it all lead up to this moment.

"Cheers," Peter says and sips on his hot chocolate, snuggling further into him.

Tony has never felt this proud. 

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading! i have the sudden interest of turning this into a series but my brain is dry of all ideas so may or may not be a while before a part two comes out
> 
> ty again,,,you guys are lovely <3


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